Can't you just keep it in the pouch?

I always use my brown official passport for the ID security theater. Every so often, I will have a screener ask me, "Is XXX your final destination?" I always answer, "I don't discuss my travel plans." That is enough to send a screener packing. Giving them the "Look at me like that again and I will rip your face off" body language defuses further interrogation. It's really sad I have to act this way, but, it's the TSA we're dealing with here.

Not sure why they would even ask that. I sure don't ask, I really don't care what your final destination is. As long as that boarding pass is leaving out of my airport, on that day, and you are in the right place for that airline, and the ID is good with the boarding pass, that's all I'm worried about.

+1

If only more of your fellow TSOs would share that wisdom!

Glad to hear that. I can see your point about giving the appearance of tampering with the ID too-- but I assume in that case the TSO wouldn't be the one handling that problem. I'm sure that any reasonable LEO would take one look at the ID, hand it back to me, and send me on my way.

Best we can tell, all they're concerned with regards to identification is that the name on any documentation of identity you provide matches the name on the boarding pass you provide. When you present such documentation, they won't go to the trouble of determining that you are who you claim to be.

That depends on what you mean by "accepts". They don't seem to require any printed form of proof of identity. And note that identification is a process -- that of identifying someone -- not something that can be accepted.

Here's what I've been able to find out about TSA's policies regarding airline passenger identification:

What are the rules concerning airline passenger identification by TSA?

Although TSA refuses to publish all the rules they require passengers to follow at airport checkpoints, from what we can distill from TSA press releases, heavily-redacted information obtained via FOIA requests, TSA blog posts, and other information they publish on the Web, it's relatively clear that your boarding pass is all the documentation that's ever required for domestic flights. It seems that passengers are not required to present documentation of their identities to TSA staff, and that doing so is not a condition of crossing the TSA checkpoint.

TSA won't publish the rules we're supposed to follow. So what do we know about their I.D. policies?

According to a 2008 press release from TSA, TSA's airport passenger identification policy changed on June 21, 2008, but "showing I.D." was seemingly not required before and is seemingly not required now.

Prior to June 21, 2008

Before June 21, 2008, the situation seemed to be: In order to proceed to the "secure area" of an airport after being stopped at a TSA barricade, each passenger must submit to a pat-down and search for metallic objects using a hand-held metal detector, along with a hand-searching of any carry-on baggage, unless he presents documentation of his identity (i.e., unless he "shows I.D."), in which case he must submit only to a search for metallic objects on his person via walk-through metal detector and search of any carry-on baggage using an X-ray machine.

In other words: back then, showing I.D. simply got you a less-thorough search than you'd otherwise receive.

Now

Beginning June 21, 2008, the situation seems to be: Each passenger still has the option of showing I.D. and participating in the less-thorough searches (walk-through metal detector and X-raying of carry-ons), but the alternative now involves not only being thoroughly searched for dangerous items, but also identifying oneself verbally and participating in an interrogation intended to verify one's identity (via phone call from Homeland Security headquarters). Chillingly, it seems from the aforementioned TSA press release that this alternative also requires that someone be "cooperative with officers". What that cooperation entails is not defined.

Initial reports from TSA indicated that while people who claimed that their government-issued I.D. card was misplaced or stolen would be allowed to take the alternate route through the checkpoint (with the questioning), those who willfully refused to show their papers would be barred from proceeding. It's unclear whether or not this is still the case, or if it was ever the case, as TSA's initial press release seems, based on information received from TSA via Freedom of Information Act request, to have been inaccurate.

Summary of present situation and how to exploit it

In short, best we can tell, complying with TSA's "papers, please!" request is not necessary in order to fly domestically, it's simply a way to avoid the hassle of a thorough search for dangerous items, the hassle of providing convincing information in support of your claim to be who you say you are, and having to cooperate with TSA airport staff in any manner they see fit.

This is a great system for people who wish to do harm in airports or on airplanes, since getting a falsified identification document (i.e., a "fake I.D.") is relatively simple, and presentation of one almost guarantees that TSA staff will look at someone with less scrutiny, making it easier for him to take weapons, explosives, or incendiaries past the security checkpoint. Even if TSA could detect such fraud with perfect accuracy, using the Carnival Booth Algorithm, terrorists can probe an identity-based security system like TSA's by sending a number of people on harmless trips through the system, noting who is flagged for extra searches and who isn't. Then they can send those who aren't flagged -- people who almost certainly will get through security with a less-thorough search -- on terrorist missions.

Why does TSA want to identify us? What's wrong with them doing so?

This isn't about your safety. It's about control -- a few people's control over the rest of us.

The primary reason that TSA wants to know who you are is their desire to restrict people's movement based on Homeland Security blacklists. As did every government that has imposed totalitarian rules, TSA repeatedly tells us that their freedom-restricting policies are about safety, security, and rooting out subversives. Of course, this policy is really about extra-judicial punishment, allowing our executive branch of government to sidestep our judicial branch and punish someone for any reason or no reason at all. That's not the way things are supposed to work in the United States. It's ripe for abuse, and it's an infringement on our freedom.

For more on showing I.D. in the general sense, please see the Identity Project's "What's Wrong With Showing I.D.?" page.

Previous discussion on FlyerTalk

For more on TSA airport I.D. policies, see also the following FT threads (the first of which is what brought me to FlyerTalk for the first time):

• 2008-04-08: Article:No ID needed to board plane
• 2008-05-01: new info from TSA re: airlines requesting ID
• 2008-05-01: does the law/courts say ID is not required to...
• 2008-06-06: Starting June 21: Refuse to Show ID, No Entry to Sterile Area
• 2008-06-09: Actually, it looks like you can still fly without ID
• 2008-06-11: TSA blog addresses the new airport ID rule
• 2008-06-20: TSA says new airport ID rule is not about control
• 2008-06-22: No ID - Reports from the Field
• 2008-06-23: Forget ID after 6/21: expect invasive ?s including political affiliation
• 2008-11-19: Are you kidding me: No ID
• 2009-05-01: What is the ID Policy?
• 2009-05-27: TSA SOP re: airport ID requirements provided to IDP via FOIA request
• 2009-07-20: Flying with expired license
• 2009-07-28: Do kids with seats (age 2-10) need ID?
• 2009-08-04: Expired Drivers licence + Temporary One -Can I fly?
• 2009-08-10: Has anyone had a problem without photo ID at the gate of Jetblue at JFK and MCO?
• 2009-10-30: How many times do I show my BP and ID at the checkpoint?
• 2009-11-09: Can I travel with my expired drivers license as ID?
• 2009-11-16: Flyer �Processed� (Arrested?) in NM After Declining to Show ID
• 2009-11-21: What happens if an ID is lost?
• 2009-11-22: No longer using passport as ID for TSA - here's why
• 2009-11-28: Expired ID
• 2009-11-30: Damaged NY State License
• 2009-12-08: Flying with expired id or no id
• 2009-12-20: College ID or Expired License for Check-in ID
• 2010-01-29: Great Safety Screening at EWR!!!
• 2010-02-04: Passport card not accepted by TSA yesterday
• 2010-02-06: Getting selected anyway, should I refuse to show ID?
• 2010-02-15: Flying Without ID & TSA @ SFO
• 2010-02-18: TSA requires Passport on Intl Flights?
• 2010-03-29: Can I travel with my expired drivers license as ID?
• 2010-04-11: ID required for unaccompanied minor?

Holy smoke, Phil! Thanks for the info-- it must have taken a while to put together such an informative post, especially with all the links. ^

If I fly this summer perhaps I'll follow a slightly modified approach... Instead of handing them a drivers license with tape all over it, I'll leave the license at home along with anything else that's unnecessary in my wallet. I'll keep 2 pieces of ID-- my insurance card (obviously, with no picture), and a piece of county-issued ID (with a picture). Using this approach, I can keep the information I want to keep safe out of their hands (potentially, at least) while still appearing to comply with their requirements to submit to their inane process.

And just to find out exactly how much I can get away with... since the approach above will probably result in getting a pat-down anyway, I'll refuse to go through their WBI by telling them that I have a medical condition that prevents me from raising my arms (or just wear a sling on an arm). And I'll also tell them that I have a medical condition that precludes me from removing my shoes.

I might spend a little more time going through security, but at least I'll get to keep my dignity with me, and get to do it my way. Now the only question is how I can record everything that's happening while I go through-- just in case someone does try to act inappropriately. I doubt that merely turning the recording capabilities on my phone on will do the trick...

That assumes (a) you haven't lost the pouch, (b) you're actually using the pouch correctly, and (c) the pouch actually suppresses the signals. The odds of all three happening together ... well, again, that depends on your level of paranoia.

And even if all of those things work ... at some point, you do have to pull the passport out of the pouch to use it. At that point, there's a window of opportunity for the signal to be read by third parties. It's a brief window, to be sure ... again, whether this is an issue depends on your level of paranoia.

Except that, since deterministic computing devices aren't involved, the numbers being transmitted aren't actually "random"; they're "pseudo-random". Which means, given enough time and computing power, one could associate a particular sequence of transmitted numbers with a particular identity. I will agree that this is highly unlikely, but not impossible. (If the value of the target is high enough, it might be seen as worth it.)

Well said.

see also: "RFID PASScards Easily Cloned", by Hugh D'Andrade, EFF Deeplinks, February 5, 2009

It begins:

Got it in yesterdays mail. 17 days from application to PP and card in hand.

Seems some government agencies can perform.

I seem to get that question at certain airports. But good for you that you don't ask. Wish your brethren would do the same.

As for the pouch, my PP did not come with a pouch. The card did, but not the PP. I am shopping for one

TSO1973, are you directed not to ask such questions, or is your refraining from asking such simply a result of personal preference?

It's nice that there are a few good apples like yourself, but I'm more concerned with the policies of your organization than with the possibility that some of you, by choice, act appropriately in performance of your duties as public employees.

I have never received direction either way on asking about final destinations,

Okay, so TSO1973, do you suppose that the reason "they would even ask that" might be that they intend to intimidate people, and that your organization places no restrictions on its staff asking such questions? Do you have any reason to suspect that most TSA airport staff do not ask similar questions? Are you and your colleagues given any reason not to simply ask people whatever you like while performing your duties at your airport barricades?

I would be curious to find out if TSA has ever provided guidance on what questions in general are "appropriate" and "inappropriate" to ask passengers at checkpoints.

I've read about a number of TSOs who apparently feel that asking people about medical conditions is acceptable. And then there are some who feel that asking about medications, cell phone contacts, and other personal belongings are OK. (All of which are beyond the scope of a simple administrative check for weapons and explosives.)

Is there anything that is strictly "out of bounds"? For instance, if a TSO sees something they don't like on my drivers license (like maybe an address, if they don't like people from a certain part of town) can they ask/say anything? And what about if something doesn't quite "mesh" in their mind-- like, say, someone from the "poorer" sections of town flying on a first class ticket? Are they permitted to ask questions or refer them to secondary screening just because of their own possible prejudices or misconceptions?

I'm wondering just how much latitude most TSOs are given, and am really really hoping that they're kept on a short leash (though evidence doesn't seem to support that position).